The recent data revealed that the number of Indians who filed Income Tax Returns in FY23 was 7.4 crores. If you are one of them, you must know about different forms related to income tax, which substantiate your income tax liability for a particular financial year. Form 26AS is one such document that proves crucial in terms of filing ITR in India.
Since the information that Form 26AS carries is indispensable in calculating your tax payable, you must know the ins and outs of it, including how to access it.
Let’s begin!
What is Form 26AS?
Starting with the basics, Form 26AS means a consolidated document that records all tax-related details and transactions that took place against your PAN number in an assessment year.
Form 26AS is also referred to as the Tax Credit Statement in India. It contains details like the TDS/TCS information, advance tax or self-assessment tax you paid, as well as the high-value transactions you made in a particular income tax cycle.
Taxpayers are provided with Form 26AS income tax to update the financial and tax-related activities against their respective PAN numbers. In short, taxpayers can get an overall picture of the tax paid and tax refund against their incomes in a particular financial year through this form.
How to View Form 26AS and Download It?
Gone are the days when you had to visit the office of the Income Tax Department to retrieve the Form 26S. The online method facilitated a positive customer experience where you can view 26AS Form by visiting the respective portals. There are two ways to view this form:
Through e-Filing Portal
You need to follow the steps to view or download the Form 26AS statement:
- Log in to the Income Tax Department’s e-filing website (https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/)
- Navigate to the ‘My Account’ tab and click on ‘View Form 26AS (Tax Credit)’
- Go through the ‘Disclaimer’ and click on the ‘Confirm’ button. It will redirect you to the TDS-CPC site
- On that portal, agree to the usage policy and click on ‘Proceed’
- Select ‘View Tax Credit (Form 26AS)’
- Choose the Assessment Year and ‘View Type’ (available in HTML, PDF or Text)
- Click on ‘View/Download’
You can finally download Form 26AS in PDF form and save it for future reference.
Through TRACES
The deductor can check the amount they have deducted against the PAN numbers. But, a point to remember here is that this facility is only available against PAN, for which the TDS/TCS has been filed.
The steps to view Form 26AS on TRACES are below:
- Log in to the TRACES portal
- Navigate to the ‘Statement/Payment’ section
- Click on the ‘View TDS/TCS Credit’
- Enter the relevant details and click on the ‘Go’ button
Note that this facility is available exclusively for the deductors. Besides these two methods, selected banks also allow you to view Form 26AS by PAN no, through their net banking facilities against your account.
Read more: 5 Financial Updates from the Government of India You Must Know
Understand Different Components of Form 26AS
Form 26AS is divided into 7 parts, from Part A to Part G. Each of these sections deals with different components of tax.
The table shows the details below:
| Parts | Details |
|---|---|
| Part A | Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) |
| Part B | Tax Collected at Source (TCS) |
| Part C | Advance Tax or Self-Assessment Tax (other than TDS/TCS) |
| Part D | Different Tax Refunds like TAN refunds, 26QB refunds, ITR refunds, etc. |
| Part E | High-value transaction details like bonds, property purchases, mutual fund investments, etc. |
| Part F | TDS on rent and TDS for buying immovable property |
| Part G | Any defaults for TDS payments |
Note that Part A of Form 26AS is further categorised into two sections, Part A1 and Part A2. The A1 concerns low to no tax deductions from 15G or 15H forms. A2 concerns the TDS for sales of immovable property.
Besides, Form 26AS also includes another Part H, which includes the turnover details (as per GSTR – 3B).
Things to Know About the Updated Form 26AS
The government made some changes in May 2020 in regard to the information available on Form 26AS. These are:
- Tax return information or demands (if applicable) against your PAN.
- Details of specific financial transactions, including the purchase and sale of stocks, credit card bill payment details, and transactions related to real estate.
- Any status related to income tax proceedings.
For more information, you can visit the web portal of the Income Tax Department of India and log in using your personal information. Note that you also need to have form 26AS login details to access your statement.
Read more: How to Effectively Declare Housing Loan Interest in Your ITR
Conclusion
Form 26AS can be considered as a tax log book that records all the details that concern your income tax liability. Besides the income tax details, this form also contains sensitive or confidential details like your name, address, PAN, Aadhaar Number, etc. Therefore, you must protect this statement to avoid any breach of privacy. At the same time, any errors or absence of any details on the 26AS form should be corrected immediately to maintain transparency.
